Purdue Firsts
— FIRSTS —
Amazon@Purdue
Online retail giant Amazon opened its first stages pickup and drop-of location in the Krach Leadership Center in February 2015. Students may pick up Amazon orders — even same- day orders with a Prime membership — or return items.
— FIRSTS —
Drill Formation
Inspired by the autumnal sight of Canada geese flying in formation, student band director Paul Spots Emrick (ECE’1908) dared to do something in 1907 that no band had done before: break military ranks and form a special shape on the football field. The Block P he created was a marching-band milestone, still used to this day.
— FIRSTS —
Collegiate Drone Racing National Championship
The first-ever Collegiate Drone Racing National Champion- ship was held at Purdue on April 15, 2017. The event attracted 48 pilots from 26 universities across the country who competed for $15,000 in prizes.
— FIRSTS —
Rube Goldberg Competition
In 1949, two Purdue engineering fraternities, Phi Chapter of Theta Tau Fraternity and Triangle Fraternity, developed the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, in which teams compete by designing complex machines to complete simple tasks. As of 2017, Purdue has won 11 contests and finished second six times. When the official Rube Goldberg ceased holding a college division in 2019, Purdue students once again started their own intercollegiate match — the Purdue National Chain Reaction Competition.
— FIRSTS —
Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Muriel Harris and David Taylor (MS EDU’95) started the world’s first Online Writing Lab (OWL) in 1994 to provide a resource for students who sought writing help but couldn’t make it into the physical Writing Lab during operating hours. The OWL provides guidance in traditional questions of style, usage, and writer’s block but also helps with online presentations and STEM coursework. OWL receives more than 400 million page views each year.
— FIRSTS —
Open Office Plan
Built in 1970, Freehafer Hall was the first structure in the nation planned from the ground up to accommodate what was considered an unconventional open office plan design. The building was demolished in 2018.
— FIRSTS —
Woman Fighter Pilot
Rosemary Bryant Mariner (T’72) was one of the first six women to earn the status of fighter pilot as a US Naval aviator in 1974. She was the first female pilot of a tactical jet and the first to command an operational aviation squadron. She was the first woman to graduate from Purdue’s new aeronautical program in 1972, earning a degree in aviation technology.
— FIRSTS —
Dual Doctorates
In 1994, American scientist, film producer, and entrepreneur Harry Kloor (PhD S’94) was the first person to be awarded two PhDs simultaneously in two distinct academic disciplines — physics and chemistry. Kloor cofounded Universal Consultants, where he served as chief science consultant, providing guidances on the development of new technological products, patents, and policy positions to clients including NASA, the US Senate, and the American Medical Association.
— CAMPUS —
Tuition Freeze
For seven straight years, Purdue University has kept tuition at the same level; five graduating classes have been able to earn their degrees without having seen a tuition increase. The University estimates that students and their families have saved a total of about $465 million; current Indiana residents would be paying about $1,400 more per year had tuition increased at the national average; nonresidents would be paying $5,560 more.
— PURDUE FIRSTS —
First Master’s Degree
A local woman from Chauncey, Indiana, earned the first master of science degree bestowed by the University. Lizzie Shoemaker (S’1884, MS S’1886) studied botany and belonged to various literary societies. A newspaper clipping from 1886 lists the 10 graduates awarded diplomas at the University’s 10th commencement ceremony. Each of the graduates gave an oration. Shoemaker’s was titled “True Aristocracy,” and according to the newspaper, it “was decided by the hearers, almost unanimously, to be the finest effort of the day, and the other addresses were about the average.”
— HOME ECONOMICS —
Extension Service
As the first leader of Home Demonstration in Indiana, Lella Gaddis led the what was then known as the Home Economics Extension Service, teaching women about hygiene, food safety, childcare and more in the early 1900s. This work evolved into what is now the Cooperative Extension Service.
— PURDUE FIRSTS —
Women in NROTC
Purdue was one of four institutions to partake in a pilot program enrolling women in the Navy ROTC in 1972. The women made the same commitment to the Navy that their male counterparts did: in return for scholarship aid, they were to serve four years on active duty following graduation.
— STUDENT LIFE —
Back a Boiler
Purdue was the first four-year institution in the country to offer an income-sharing agreement (ISA) as an alternative to taking out student loans. Under the Back a Boiler program, graduates make payments for 10 years after graduation. The percentage paid depends on a student’s major and the amount of funding received. The program is funded through the Purdue Research Foundation with support from private investors.
— PIONEERING WOMEN —
First Woman Graduate
Eulora Miller (S’1878) was just 16 when she enrolled at Purdue University. Three years later, she became the first woman to graduate from the University. Following graduation, she worked at Purdue as a librarian. She eventually moved to California and taught metalworking at the California College of Arts and Crafts. Her work can be viewed at the First Church of Christ, Scientist, a National Historic Landmark in Berkeley, California, where she fabricated large bowl reflector lamps that hang above the center aisle.